A Truly Risky Failure Appears To Have Been Sucessfully Countered

A Russian launch to the ISS, carrying a Russian and American astronaut, was aborted early in the launch phase, but has resulted in the safe landing and recovery of both crewmen.

Few astronauts will argue that a failure early in the launch phase is one of their worst nightmares, and for first time NASA Astronaut Nick Hague, this very short first rocket excursion had to be a stunning disappointment.

NASA has already made an initial statement, "The Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station at 4:40 a.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 11 (2:40 p.m. in Baikonur) carrying American astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin. Shortly after launch, there was an anomaly with the booster and the launch ascent was aborted, resulting in a ballistic landing of the spacecraft.

"Search and rescue teams were deployed to the landing site. Hague and Ovchinin are out of the capsule and are reported to be in good condition. They will be transported to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia outside of Moscow.

"NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and the NASA team are monitoring the situation carefully. NASA is working closely with Roscosmos to ensure the safe return of the crew. Safety of the crew is the utmost priority for NASA. A thorough investigation into the cause of the incident will be conducted."